Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general, sent a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urging action to address the rampant spread of illegal offshore gaming operations across the country.

In their letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Raoul and the coalition stressed the need for action to combat harm to the rule of law, consumers and the economy from unprecedented growth in illicit online gambling. 

“Illegal gaming operations fuel criminal enterprises and prey on vulnerable adults and young people,” Raoul said. “These operations also increase the tax burden for all taxpayers, as states are forced to make up for billions in lost gaming revenue. I urge the DOJ to prioritize enforcement against illegal offshore gaming operations, upholding the rule of law and protecting states and our residents in the process.”

Illegal online sports betting and gaming operations are largely operated by foreign-based companies that routinely operate without proper licensure, offer limited or non-existent consumer protections, fail to effectively verify the age of users, ignore state boundaries, and evade tax obligations. 

In their letter, Raoul and the coalition highlight the significant harm such unlawful platforms cause to states and residents, particularly to young people, vulnerable adults and state economies. Specifically, the coalition asserts that illegal gaming operations expose users to fraudulent schemes and encourage problem gambling without any oversight or accountability; undercut state-regulated markets; and have been linked to money laundering, human trafficking and other illegal conduct. The American Gaming Association estimates illegal online gaming exceeds more than $400 billion in volume annually, leading to more than $4 billion in lost tax revenue for states. 

Raoul and the coalition urge the DOJ to assist and coordinate with states in deploying robust legal tools and enforcement actions against illegal offshore gaming operations, especially as such actions by the DOJ have been extremely limited since 2013. Particularly, the coalition urges the DOJ to help curb illegal offshore gaming operations by:   

• Pursuing injunctive relief under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to block access to illegal websites and payment processing mechanisms related to illicit gaming operations.
• Seizing assets – including servers, websites, domains and proceeds – used by gaming operators that violate state and federal law.
• Coordinating with states, financial institutions and payment processors to block unlawful transactions and dismantle financial infrastructure related to illegal gaming operations.

 Joining Raoul in submitting the letter are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.